Photos/Review: ATP I'll Be Your Mirror - Day Three (Deerhoof, Company Flow, Public Enemy)

The third day of All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror came to a close yesterday, but went out on a great note. After spending most of Saturday (and Friday) running back and forth from the two major stages, I decided to stay at Convention Hall most of Sunday and take in each act in full. Besides, I was able to meet Jeff Mangum and have him sign my passport and got to shake Flavor Flav's hand so those highlights certainly outweighed trying to see all ten acts that were scheduled. More on that in a bit...Again, we arrived at Asbury Park a little late and missed some of the first few acts. Luckily Nadia was there to take a few photos of Anika, an artist who collaborated with Geoff Barrow and BEAK> for her debut album that was released last year. Apparently, she sounds exactly like Nico, which is fitting considering the festival's namesake.

The first band I got to check out was Deerhoof, one of my favorite experimental acts out there, and also one of my favorite bands to see live. They of course sounded great, with drummer Greg Saunier doing his best to fill dead space with the most awkward stage banter imaginable (a common occurrence for Deerhoof shows). My only complaint is that every time I see the band, they more or less stick to the same 20 or so songs. I expect more from a band that has released a new album every couple years for the past decade. Check out some photos of Deerhoof below, as dimly lit as the band may have been...

After Deerhoof, there were two major hip-hop acts on the lineup at Convention Hall; Company Flow and Public Enemy. This was only Company Flow's third show in the past decade, but they appeared to have not missed a beat in their hiatus. A good way to warm up the crowd for what was to be a really incredibly performance by Public Enemy, Company Flow brought old school rap to ATP much in the same way Ultramagnetic MC's did the night before. Check out some photos of them below...

Though we didn't take too much time throughout the weekend to take in the atmosphere of Asbury Park, it really was a great place to spend the weekend. It got pretty cold on the last night, but we spent some time at the bonfire they had nightly before the night was done...

Jeff Mangum drew this for me in my passport. Not sure what the hell it is, but I like it.

Festival buddies

And then it happened... Public Enemy blew everyone away with one of the more energetic performances I've seen in a long time. Say what you will about Flavor Flav, the man is an iconic performer and had more onstage charisma than pretty much any other performer I had seen all weekend. Chuck D, of course, still has all the MC chops that has made him one of the most highly respected rappers of all time.

The group, complete with DJ Lord (who replaced Terminator X) and full band in tow, were originally booked to play Fear of a Black Planet in full. But after the cancellation of Mogwai, they were given a two hour slot. In response, Public Enemy declared they would be playing Fear of a Black Planet "remixed" meaning we heard nearly every song off the album, in addition to numerous other PE hits. Yes, that means they played "Bring The Noise" and "Don't Believe The Hype."

Also need to mention how skilled a turntabalist DJ Lord is. And that famed Twitter music critic Chris Weingarten (1000 Times Yes) was brought onstage to rap "Don't Believe The Hype," which was actually the only thing he said into the mic before jumping into the crowd. The whole set was fucking awesome, and a highlight of the entire three day festival. Check out some photos of Public Enemy below...

Portishead came back for a second performance to close out Convention Hall's lineup. Just as they were the night before, the band put on a breathtaking performance. We'll be posting a full set of photos of both sets shortly.